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End of the World
"End of The World" is the sixth episode of Season 4 of the NBC television series Parks and Recreation. It originally aired on November 3, 2011 to 4 million viewers. Storyline The Reasonabilists, a Pawnee doomsday cult that worships a lizard god known as Zorp the Surveyor, have predicted the world is going to end. Since they have never been correct with their doomsday predictions in the past, no one takes them seriously and Leslie Knope always allows them to hold an all-night vigil in a park. Chris Traeger asks Leslie and Ben Wyatt to join him in monitoring the Reasonabilists during their vigil, which makes the two feel awkward since they have not spent much time together since their break-up. In case the world actually does end, April Ludgate decides to help Andy Dwyer complete everything on his bucket list in the span of a day. Meanwhile, Tom Haverford and Jean-Ralphio Saperstein's company Entertainment 720 is finished, so they decide to hold a huge “end of the world” party in their office since the lease is not up until the next day. After interviewing Chris, Ben, and Leslie about the vigil, newspaper reporter Shauna Malwae-Tweep shows a romantic interest in Ben. Leslie panics and tries to dissuade Shauna from asking him out, but Leslie and Ann Perkins later witness Shauna flirt with Ben and ask him to join her at Entertainment 720’s party, which is in full swing. Despite the jubilant atmosphere at the party, Tom feels something is missing, but is pleasantly surprised to find his ex-girlfriend Lucy there, whom Jean-Ralphio invited, though he wanted to hook up with her, forgetting that Tom and her ever dated. Leslie panics when Ben prepares to meet up with Shauna at the party, so she makes him join her in seeing an interesting Pawnee site, but she just drives in circles and ends up at an abandoned gas station. Ben sees through Leslie’s plan and doesn't appreciate her attempts to interfere with his life, noting that it was her who decided they needed to break up. Leslie later admits to Ron Swanson that if the world was going to end, she would want to spend her last night with Ben, but Ron reminds her that the world is not going to end, so Leslie must accept that she has chosen her political career over Ben. Meanwhile, April and Andy have completed Andy’s bucket list, except for seeing the Grand Canyon. They steal April’s father’s car and begin the 30 hour drive. As expected, the world does not end. Entertainment 720’s party is a huge success and Tom is congratulated by Lucy the next morning. Leslie apologizes to Ben and lets him know that she is fine with him dating. Andy and April arrive at the Grand Canyon and are amazed, but Andy realizes he was actually thinking of Mount Rushmore, when he asks where the presidents' faces are. Quotes Leslie: Turns out when you think the world's ending you don't aim so carefully in the Port-o-potties. Ron: What religion am I? Well, I'm a practicing none of your f***ing business. Chris: Lance Armstrong dumping Sheryl Crow That was a tragic day. Live strong. Jerry: Can I go? Gayle is making a roast. Ron: It is a beautiful night for the end of the world. April: We have a thousand dollars in our bank account and we're young and irresponsible. Andy: Have you ever seen this much money in your life? Bank teller: I just handed it to you. Ron: That was 'Symphony for the Righteous Destruction of Humanity' in E minor, by the late Lou Prozotovich. Chris: Herb, I just speed read both of your books and, full disclosure, I think they're bonkersville. Herb Scaifer: 'When Zorp shows up, your faces will be melted off and used as fuel. ''looks at the camera unconvinced and Leslie looks hardly surprised '''Ben: Are you gonna murder me and bury me at this gas station? Tom: Well, Entertainment 720 is dead. It's up in company heaven along with Pets.com, Blockbuster, and Ask Jeeves. My company is no better than a company where you ask a fake butler to Google things for you. Ann: I think the danger in believing in reincarnation is that you spend so much time trying to figure out what you're going to be in the next lifetime that you forget to enjoy the one you're in now. Leslie: If the world was ending tomorrow I'd want to be with him. Ron: Well, that's significant. The problem is, Leslie, the world's not ending tomorrow -- the sun's gonna rise right over there. It'll be a regular Friday and you'll be in the exact same position you were in before. Andy: the Grand Canyon It's so much more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. April: Yeah, I'm trying to find a way to be annoyed at it, but I'm coming up empty. Andy: Where are all the faces... of the presidents? Oddities * When April and Andy start on the bucket list items, they go to the bank so that Andy can hold a thousand dollars in his hands. Ten $100 bills are disappointing to Andy, so they get 1000 $1 bills, which the teller distributes into three piles. As she counts the thousandth bill, she places it into the center pile. If the counts were accurate, #999 would have gone into the third pile, and #1000 would have gone into the first pile, so the counts are off, or a pile was skipped in the distribution process. *When Andy and April drive to the Grand Canyon, April mentions that the map predicts that it will take 30 hours. This is somewhat conservative; online map applications indicate driving 30 hours from the Grand Canyon puts one closer to Pittsburgh, PA. "South-central Indiana" to the Grand Canyon clocks in at 25 hours. However, the scene in which they arrive at the Grand Canyon is shown parallel with the scene of everyone leaving Tom's party in the morning, with the implication that both events occurred simultaneously. Even given the advantage of timezone crossings when travelling west, it is unlikely Andy and April could have driven all the way there in just one night; the required average speed is upwards of of 140mph, well above the stock speed limiter for any B7 Passat. * In the closing credits, Herb Scaifer and Leslie are in her office to book another date for the return of Zorp. The camera briefly shows Leslie's computer screen with her monthly calendar, in which there is a recurring event labeled, "Clean My Desk", scheduled for every other Sunday. * The filming location is revealed by the closing credits scene as well. Herb reserves the park for "six months from now" at the end of May, meaning this episode is set in late November (near it's airdate). Late November weather in Indiana is much too cold for the clothes the characters are wearing (revealing the Los Angeles area filming location), with Indianapolis averaging highs of 48 degrees and lows of 38. In 2018, for example, on Nov 20, Indianapolis had a high of 39 and a low of 27.